27/07/2009 - Le Tour 2009 - Round Up
Cycling is often referred to as "sport of the gods". If this is true, then the winner of the Tour de France seals his place among the highest order of deity. The list of past winners without doubt reads as a who's who of cycling greats - Lambot, Bottecchia, Coppi, Bobet, Anquetil, Merckx, Thevent, Hinault, Fignon, Lemond, Indurain and of course, Armstrong. Once already, Alberto Contador has won the famous race, but only by default after race leader Michael Rasmussen was removed from the competition due to doping. This year, the Spaniard has won the race on merit alone, chalking up his 4th Grand Tour victory.
Contador demonstrated that he is without doubt the greatest stage racer of his generation, with only Saxo Bank youngster Andy Schleck presenting any real challenge to the Astana rider. The race itself was won and lost on 4 key stages - starting with the team time trial on Stage 4 around Montpellier. The sponsor and kit may be different, but the story was the same - a Johan Bruyneel / Lance Armstrong team dominated a team time trial - helping propel Contador up the GC standings. The second was Stage 7 to Andorra, as Contador disobeyed team orders designed to place Armstrong in yellow and accelerated up the final climb without answer from his fellow riders. Stage 15 to Verbier was the hammer blow to Contador's rivals. The Spaniard again danced on the pedals and accelerated in such a fashion that no one could follow, taking 1 minute 37 out of the next best rider on the day, team-mate Lance Armstrong. The final decisive day was on stage 18, where Contador demonstrated he is no longer just a mountain climber, as he destroyed the field in the individual time trial around Annecy.
Despite Contador's dominance of the race both in the mountains and the time trials, the real story of this year's Tour was the return to Paris of arguably the greatest rider in the history of the race, 7 time winner Lance Armstrong. With him came rivalry for the team leadership and ultimately the yellow jersey itself. Rightly or wrong, Alberto Contador has been painted the villain of the story, although the Spaniard's version of events is obviously different. However, the manner with which Armstrong has returned to the sport of professional cycling, regardless of his motives, and what he has achieved in such a short period of time is as big a story as Contador's victory, if not more worthy of column inches.
At 37, after having been away from the sport for 3 and a half years years, Armstrong was expected by many to be a whipping boy for the peloton, especially after having suffered a broken collarbone earlier in the season. However, a strong final week in the Giro d'Italia saw him score 12th place, and for the prologue time trial in Monaco the Texan looked lean and hungry - like the Armstrong of old. Perhaps the result didn't back this up - 10th place and 40 seconds down on stage winner Fabian Cancellara - but Armstrong certainly didn't disgrace himself. As the race unfolded, Armstrong displayed he had lost none of his tactical nouse, being in the right place at the right time when the winds split the peloton on Stage 3. Ultimately though, when it counted, Contador simply had more firepower than Armstrong and ironically the win had Johan Bruyneel's tactics stamped all over it - win the time trials and attack on the final climb of the day to break down your opposition - the same tactics that handed Armstrong all 7 of his victories.
The Texan is universally hated by the French for dominating their race for so long in such a brash, "American" fashion - a poll suggested 70% of French people did not want Armstrong to ride. But in losing Armstrong demonstrated both weakness and humility - something the French crowds appreciated and rather than relish the Texan's demise they embraced their once hated nemesis like a national hero. Standing on the third step of the podium in Paris, Armstrong looked uncomfortable and somewhat out of place. To any other mere mortal, 3rd place in the World's toughest sporting event would be reason enough for celebration, but not Mellow Johnny. After defeating cancer, winning Le Tour 7 times, and leading the fight in the global war on cancer, Armstrong is used to victory. Hard fought victories, maybe - but victories none the less. Yet to even be stood on the podium after 3 and a half years out at the ripe old age of 37, the rest of the cycling world salutes a true hero.
Does this make Contador the villain then? Certainly in some quarters, he is viewed as one. He defied team orders on several occasions over the 3 weeks, which may well be sighted a large factor in Johan Bruyneel's departure from the Kazakh team. No doubt Contador is a great cyclist, but the jury may well be out as to whether he is a great champion. Already he has commented on Armstrong, indicating he has no respect or admiration for the Texan. The fallout from this year's tour will more than likely continue for weeks to come, but we already know Armstrong and Contador will not race together next year and more than likely neither for the troubled Astana team.
Luxembourg's Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) had another fantastic race this year, winning the young rider prize for the second year in succession. Already earmarked as a future winner, Schleck junior finished second overall, some 4 minutes and 11 seconds down on Contador. Brother Frank (also Saxo Bank) finished in 5th.
Another fantastic result was the 4th place of Britain's Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream). Before the race, Wiggins was certainly not on anyone's list of favourites. At the very most, he was down as a possible stage winner in one of the individual time trials, but no one (least of all Bradley himself) could predict his 4th place. The Olympic gold medalist had not only slimmed down from his track racing days, but he had learnt how to climb. In the Pyrenees he surprised everyone, keeping up the pace with Lance Armstrong and the Schlecks. Those who thought it was a fluke were in for more of the same in the Alps. In fact, only on the penultimate day on Mont Ventoux did Wiggins look like he might pop, but the Englishman held on to finish a fantastic fourth overall.
If Wiggins was making the headlines for his antics in the mountains, Mark Cavendish was making the headlines on the flat. The Manx Missile won an unprecedented 6 stages including the final stage on the Champs-Élysées. Flawlessly led out throughout the race by Columbia HTC team-mates George Hincapie and Mark Renshaw, Cav has set a new record for stage wins for a British rider. Unfortunately, Mark missed out on the green jersey, which was won by Cervelo Test Team rider, Thor Hushovd. Cav himself may feel hard done to, as a disqualification on stage 14 may well have cost him the green jersey. However, the quickest man in the World will be back next year and has already admitted he has a hunger for for green in 2010.
In the mountains, fresh from his third place in the Giro d'Italia, Italian Franco Pellizotti had originally planned for a podium place in the GC. However, it soon became apparent the Liquigas rider could not keep up with the leaders, and he switched his attention to the polka dot jersey. Pellizotti won the competition with 210 points over Euskaltel Euskadi rider Egoi Martinez in 2nd and the yellow jersey of Alberto Contador in 3rd. Pellizotti also won the most combative rider competition.
Rounding out the prizes was Team Astana, who won the team prize. The blue and yellow shirts of the Kazakh outfit were ever presents at the front of the peloton, with the faces of Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer (before his crash), Andreas Kloden and Haimar Zubeldia a common sight over the 3 weeks.
Overall Race Result
1. CONTADOR Alberto (ASTANA) - 85h 48' 35"
2. SCHLECK Andy (TEAM SAXO BANK) - 85h 52' 46" (+ 04' 11")
3. ARMSTRONG Lance (ASTANA) - 85h 53' 59" (+ 05' 24")
4. WIGGINS Bradley (GARMIN - SLIPSTREAM) - 85h 54' 36" (+ 06' 01")
5. SCHLECK Frank (TEAM SAXO BANK) - 85h 54' 39" (+ 06' 04")
6. KLÖDEN Andréas (ASTANA) - 85h 55' 17" (+ 06' 42")
7. NIBALI Vincenzo (LIQUIGAS) - 85h 56' 10" (+ 07' 35")
8. VANDE VELDE Christian (GARMIN - SLIPSTREAM) - 86h 00' 39" (+ 12' 04")
9. KREUZIGER Roman (LIQUIGAS) - 86h 02' 51" (+ 14' 16")
10. LE MEVEL Christophe (FRANCAISE DES JEUX) - 86h 03' 00" (+ 14' 25")
Points
1. HUSHOVD Thor (CERVELO TEST TEAM) - 280 pts
2. CAVENDISH Mark (TEAM COLUMBIA - HTC) - 270 pts
3. CIOLEK Gerald (TEAM MILRAM) - 172 pts
Mountains
1. PELLIZOTTI Franco (LIQUIGAS) - 210 pts
2. MARTINEZ Egoi (EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI) - 135 pts
3. CONTADOR Alberto (ASTANA) - 126 pts
Youth
1. SCHLECK Andy (TEAM SAXO BANK) - 85h 52' 46"
2. NIBALI Vincenzo (LIQUIGAS) - 85h 56' 10" (+ 03' 24")
3. KREUZIGER Roman (LIQUIGAS) - 86h 02' 51" (+ 10' 05")
Team
1. ASTANA - 256h 02' 58"
2. GARMIN - SLIPSTREAM - 256h 25' 33" (+ 22' 35")
3. TEAM SAXO BANK - 256h 31' 32" (+ 28' 34")
Combative
PELLIZOTTI Franco (LIQUIGAS)
